But I Thought Jedi Weren't Supposed To Love
by Katie the Word Nerd
Summary: Kay-Lin Ryder is a Jedi apprentice with a major problem. She needs to find a master before her thirteenth birthday, which is rapidly approaching. See how Kay tries to solve her problems, big and small, with her best friends Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi.
1. Chapter 1: The Dream

"But Master, we've got to save her!" screamed a strong, young male voice over the loud sounds of an approaching battle. I was in his arms, but I could not see.

"She's with the resistance! Her family has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people. She's just the same as her brothers, all bred murderers!" shouted a deep voice over the great booms of thermal detonators.

"This kid is NOT a killer! She can't be more than three!" yelled the young voice again, clutching me against his chest.

"You'd be surprised on how young these radicals teach their kids how to kill! Why are you so intent upon saving this kid?" asked the owner of the deeper voice in a slightly angry tone.

The young man took a deep breath, as if to gather his thoughts. Over the cacophony of the battle screamed, "One, she is not a criminal. She is just as much of a victim as the people her family has killed. Two, she is just a child! I would never hurt an innocent kid, and I doubt you would either!

"Don't speak to your master that way!" yelled the man with the deeper voice.

But this did not stop the young man. His voice quavered slightly, but he kept talking. "Three, well, just hold her for a second and you'll see what I mean."

"What?" said the older man in surprise.

"Take her," said the young man. I was passed from his arms to the big, beefy, muscular ones of the other man. He held me against his chest, as if studying me. His chest vibrated shortly and I could tell he was talking, yet I could not make out what he was saying. I could feel that he was suppressing much surprise. He passed me back to the young man.

"The battle is getting closer," bellowed the older man to the young man. "If you're so intent on saving her, hide her somewhere safe. Now!"

The young man ran and I was jostled in his arms. Finally, he slowed. He set me on the ground. Something creaked as the young man rustled through some unknown objects. Why can't I see?

All of the sudden, a loud, high-pitched wine filled the room. "BLAST IT!!" screamed the young man. Suddenly, he threw himself over me. I was completely covered by his teenage body.

Unexpectedly, a huge explosion shook the Earth. The floorboards trembled underneath me. Nevertheless, the young man held like an unquavering mountain above me, though his pain-filled screams were apparent.

As soon as it began, the shaking stopped. Still, the young man screamed in pain. On unstable feet, he moved away from me. He picked me up and placed me in an empty crate-like box.

"I need you to stay here until I come back for you, okay?" he said unsteadily as he messed up my hair. He was trying to mask the pain in his voice, but he was quite unsuccesful. As he stood above me, a steady dripping kept splattering my head. It was a warm, thick liquid that seemed oddly framiliar.

When the young man sprinted away into the laser blasts and thermal detonators, leaving me in the crate, the dripping stopped.


	2. Chapter 2: Room of a Thousand Fountains

_Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep._

I woke up from my nightmare in a cold sweat. Every day, I have the same fevered dream. Was it a story of my past, or was it just a reoccurring nightmare? And, if either of them exists, who was the young man and who was the older one? Moreover, throughout the whole dream, why could I only hear, but not see? This dream opened so many questions, and I only wish I just knew what it meant!

Groggily, I pushed myself up and hit the low ceiling of my room. "Blast it!" I yelled, but not loud enough for anyone outside my walls to hear. I rubbed the now swelling bump on my head.

_Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep._

I climbed down my ladder from my bunk and slapped the off button on my alarm clock. There was no need to press snooze, the Council had disabled all snooze buttons on all youngling alarm clocks. Besides, I was already out of bed.

I stretched and looked at the time on my oh-so annoying alarm clock. It read that it was 4:30 in the morning. I clicked another button on the clock and a hologram of my day's schedule popped up. I had a few classes today and another duel between students in front of a Jedi to pick their apprentice. Then to my dread, the calendar read "Only 17 more days until your 13th birthday!"

"Blast IT!" I yelled louder than last time, slamming my fists on the table.

Hi. In case you do not know me, my name is Kay-Lin Ryder, but my close friends call me Kay. I'm human and I have long, blonde, slightly-curly hair and hazel eyes and I am a little taller than average for my age and species. I am 12 years and 348 days old, in case you have not already done the math.

I live in the Jedi Temple in the capital planet of Coruscant. Sadly, I'll probably have to leave my home soon. You see, I'm a youngling and I'm almost thirteen, without a master. This is definatly not good news. If a youngling is not chosen by any Jedi Knight (or higher ranking Jedi, for that matter) to be their padawan by their 13th birthday, the youngling is placed into another, lesser role in the Jedi Service Corps. Depending on where the student's talents lay, this could be in the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, or the Exploration Corps. I will probably face a future in the Exploration Corps. Not a fun job, trust me. Right now, my main goal is to impress a master enough so I can officially become a padawan.

My door burst open. My best friend, who happens to live in the apartment next to mine, was standing in the doorway. "Kay, are you alright? I heard a voice, and…"

"I'm fine Obi-Wan," I said with a smile.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should do more calming meditations…"

"I'm fine, thanks," that was Obi-Wan, always trying to help.

"Well, if you're sure you okay…I'll just…go then…" Obi-Wan slowly started to close my door.

"See you at the Fountains, Obi-Wan," I called after him. He opened up the door a crack, waved, and shut it.

Obi-Wan is my best friend at the temple. He is extremely shy and he just had his 11th birthday last week. Both of us are desperately looking for a master, he is just lucky he has more time. I cannot believe a master has not taken him yet. He is really nice, smart, sweet, and caring… except around Bruck Chun. As long as anyone could remember, Bruck and Obi-Wan had been bitter rivals.

I could see why a master wouldn't want me as an apprentice. I'm everything a master wouldn't want. I'm hyper and a class clown. I have a rough time taking things seriously, which is not a virtue with the Jedi. As you can probably gather, meditating is hard for me. I'm also strong-willed, stubborn, and I like to be in charge. I'm the clumsiest kid in the galaxy and I trip over my own feat constantly. My head just hasn't caught up with my growing legs and arms, not to mention my gigantic hands and feet.

I do have my postives, though. I'm as loyal as a dog and I'm fairly strong, both physically and in the force. I'm also pretty good with a lightsber. I know it's not exacty the thing to flaunt about in front of Master Yoda, but I'm a fair fighter. I'm also pretty athletic. One of my proudest accomplishments was actually beating one of the masters at the flying similator. Needless to say, I'm an pretty good pilot, if I do say so myself. Obi-Wan and I are exact opposites, but we balance eachother out.

I did a few stretches to wake up my body. I did a couple breathing exercises and I was pretty much ready. I decided today that my usual rotine of a few morning meditations could wait. I threw on a fresh tunic and clipped my training lightsaber to my belt (it doesn't hurt to carry it). I was ready for a brand new day. Hopefully, I may impress a master yet.

I checked my alarm clock. 5:02 am. Obi-Wan's going to kill me.

As I was throwing on my boots, I ran through hallways and flew down stairs. I meet Obi-Wan everyday in the Room of a Thousand Fountains promptly at 5:00am. Obi-Wan hates it whenever I'm late.

I sprinted through the bottom floor of the Jedi Temple. The Room of a Thousand Fountains is an enormous greenhouse full of many plant species, and full of fountains that join together to form pools, streams, and brooks that flow through the room. It's the most beautiful place in the entire temple, maybe even the entire galaxy.

I opened the doors and stepped into the room. Even though I've lived in the temple for about 12 years now, it's still took my breath away everytime I entered it's double-doored enterance.

I hated using the pathways in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I just found it more peaceful to make my own cource through the trees and shrubs. I stepped off the pebbley path and onto the springy fresh grass. The fresh dew on the green blades sprinkled water onto my boots. I figured I knew were Obi-Wan was; in his usually meditation place on a small, flat stone just large enough for the two of us to sit on by a bubbling stream.

I reached the stone. Obi-Wan wasn't there. I immediately knew something was up. Was Obi-Wan playing a trick on me for being late, or did something actually happen? In either case, I started my search for him in silence.

It didn't take long for me to find him. I was climbing to the top of a cliff that became a huge, roaring waterfall when I found Obi-Wan. I was releived that I found him, but nevertheless, I felt my stomach go to my throat. Even though I love piloting, I hate heights! He was crouching in some plants on the rocky edge of the cliff. Obi-Wan was so deep in the trees and torny shrubs that the only part I could see clearly of him was his left boot. "Hey, Obi-Wan, what are you doing in there?" I said, trying not to throw up.

Obi-Wan didn't even acknowledge that I was there. In fact he didn't even move.

I was immediately conncerned. "Look, I know I'm late, but that doesn't mean you have to ignore me…" I was just about to say "so let's head down before I throw up all over you," but suddenly, Obi-Wan whirled around and looked at me. I could tell he wasn't mad, he just put a finger to his lips, and motioned for me to join him.

I dropped to my stomach and crawled my way through the brittle leaves and sharp branches next to Obi-Wan. Only then did I become aware of the quite voices. A twig snapped under the weight of my boot and Obi-Wan winced. Obviously, whoever was talking didn't hear it because they kept right on talking.

I layed down next to Obi-Wan and peered over the ridge. There, I saw an old, small, wrinkled alien talking to a tall, muscular male humanoid.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked at me like I had a disease. "That's Master Yoda…"

"Not Yoda, you nerf herder! The other guy!"

"You don't know who HE is?"

"No!"

"That's Ral-Lor. Real nice, funny guy. I guess he just came back from the Klatooine mission. I hear he's one of the youngest Jedi yet. The Klatoonie mission was only his third without a master. He's a real role model," whispered Obi-Wan. Sometimes, that kid was just like an encyclopedia.

"How do you know all this?"

" 'Cause, unlike you, I listen. Now, SHUT UP!" he whispered in a slightly angry tone.

We focused our attention on the people bellow us.

"So, you wanted to see me, Master?" said Ral-Lor.

"Yes, Ral-Lor. Still getting used to missions on your own, you are, but hoping you would do me a favor, I was."

"What can I do for you, Master Yoda?"

"Take on a apprentice, I wish you will."

"What? This early?" Even from high up, I could see the shock on the young Jedi's face.

"Ral-Lor, ready you are. Strong you are in the force. And, for many younglings, last hope, you are. No more aprenticeless Jedi are schedualed to arive back at the temple for the next two weeks, I fear."

They stood in silence in the shadow of the big oak tree for a minute. Ral-Lor thoughtfully put his hand behind his head and scratched. Finally, he said, "Sure. I'll take on an apprentice, Master Yoda."

"Alright. Scedualed a training duel for today, I have already done."

"How did you know I was going to say yes?"

Master Yoda chuckled and walked away. Ral-Lor was left standing there, alone, in utter shock.

I turned to Obi-Wan and both our eyes widened. "TWO WEEKS?!" we whispered in unison.

Obi-Wan suddenly became worried. "Kay, this may be your last chance to get a master…"

Obi-Wan, forever the selfless little kid. "Obi-Wan, you have your own master troubles to deal with, don't worry about mine." Suddenly, another crazy scheme shot into my mind. "Obi-Wan, I just had an epiphany." Obi-Wan slapped his forehead. Eveyone knew what it was like when I got my epiphanies. "Here's our chance to impress him!"

Obi-Wan sighed. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

I winked. "You'll see. Come on!"

I ran down the cliff, Obi-Wan at my heels. I was depending on Ral-Lor to only leisurely walk back to the enterance of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I reached the bottom of the cliff and signaled Obi-Wan to keep following, silently.

We finally reached one of the most popular meditating places. It is impossible for anyone on the path not to see who was meditating in the clearing.

"And now, we meditate," I said, folding my legs into a meditating position.

"You know, I could see anyone in the temple saying that, except you," said Obi-Wan jokingly. I gave him a glare, and he looked confuzed. "What? You weren't joking?" he asked, even more puzzled. Finally, I saw something click inside Obi-Wan's eyes, and he sat down next to me, and didn't ask another question.

We sat meditating for the next two minutes or so. There was no question now that Obi-Wan had figured out my scheme. Finally, our waiting paid off. I reached out into the force and saw Ral-Lor came down the path.

With the help of the force, I folowed Ral-Lor's every footstep. He came trodding down the path untill he was right next to us. He stoped and turned his head to face Obi-Wan and I. He paused for a few seconds, and then did something very unexpected. Ral-Lor turned around and headed towards us.

He sat right down next to me on the fresh grass and was immediately in deep meditation. Both Obi-Wan and I stayed completely still, both of us not daring to show any signs that we senced Ral-Lor.

We sat there for what seemed like hours. I figure that it was probably only ten minutes, but it seemed like ten years. Finally, Ral-Lor took a deep breath and said,"You two can stop pretending now, you know. I'm not a moron, I can tell when you're faking it," he said, opening his eyes and turning to Obi-Wan and I.

We atempted to stay in silent meditation, but we knew our cover was definatly blown.

Ral-Lor sighed. "You guys heard everything, didn't you?"

Both Obi-Wan and I opened our eyes, which were widened immediately as we turned towards each other, and then back to Ral-Lor.

Ral-Lor laughed as he stood up. He walked closer to us. "Well, good luck today, guys. You two definatly have the makings for some great Jedi," he said as he messed up my hair with his right hand. I smiled up at him and he smiled back at me with his playful brown eyes. Then he just… walked off.

"Whoa," said Obi-Wan in shock. "I think he actually thinks we're…somewhat cool! That's a first!"

"I couldn't see Mace doing THAT! And, what, they're the same age?" I said, jokingly, but with a little bit of grudge in my voice. Honestly, I hated Mace Windu! He was a selfish pig who just kissed up left and right to get the best everything. Everyone thinks he's close to becoming a master with all his brown-nosing.

"Maybe you still have a good chance of getting a master, Kay," said Obi-Wan, hopefully.

I stared off to were Ral-Lor walked out of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. "Yeah, maybe I do."


	3. Chapter 3: Bruck Chun

But I Thought Jedi Weren't Supposed To Love…Chapter 3

But I Thought Jedi Weren't Supposed To Love…Chapter 3

Obi-Wan got up and brushed off his grassy knees. "Hey, we can't get you a master on an empty stomach! Let's get you to the kitchens for some breakfast!"

"Race ya!" I yelled. With that, we sprinted towards the kitchens.

We ran a few corridors, and then I tripped and fell flat on my face (I told you I was the clumsiest person in the galaxy). Obi-Wan immediately dropped to his hands and knees. "Kay! Are you alright?" He put his arms on my shoulders and turned me over. I was laughing like crazy.

"You pile of bantha poo!" yelled Obi-Wan as he playfully slapped my arm.

As we got up, three large shadows loomed over our heads. We knew then that something was up.

There stood Bruck Chun and his two cronies.

"Well well well, if it isn't the Temple's two wittle wuv birds," said Bruck, clasping his hands by his head and making kissy noises. His two comrades laughed along mindlessly.

Obi-Wan blushed a bright crimson. "Shut up, Bruck," he said as calm and as steadily as he could. To most people, this would look like he was scared. However, to people who know Obi-Wan better, they will defiantly know that this is the sign that he is getting mad.

"Oh, is Obi-Wan afraid of me?" said Bruck in a childish voice. His mindless zombie-like associates started calling Obi-Wan names like "little baby" and "scaredy cat." I think all three of them are half ape.

"Oh, shut up, Bruck. We're all Jedi, so why don't you stat acting like one?" I said.

Bruck's zombie's looked at each other, confused, until Bruck retorted, "Oh, yeah! We'll, I thought Jedi weren't supposed to love!"

Even though I thought it was nearly impossible, Obi-Wan's ears grew redder. He seemed as though he was trying to melt onto the floor in a puddle of goo and seep through some crack in the wall and away from this. They started laughing and pointing at Obi-Wan.

I was almost at my boiling point. It's okay when people mess with me, but when they start on my friends, it's payback time. "Why don't you guys grow up? Just because you're too immature enough to have a friend of the opposite sex, doesn't mean you have to bring Obi-Wan down for acting like a mature Jedi!" I shouted at them as they continued laughing. I felt Obi-Wan slowly rise back up to full height.

"Why don't you guys leave the Order and get married? Everyone knows you want to!" Bruck shot back.

"That's IT!!" I screamed. I lunged for Bruck's fat-covered neck. But, while I was halfway through the air, something grabbed my shoulder and held me back. As soon as I landed, hands still outstretched for Bruck's throat, I whirled around to see who- or what, had grabbed me. To my surprise, it was Obi-Wan who had his hand on my shoulder, head down. Obi-Wan was the only one in the temple who hated Bruck more than me.

Head still down, Obi-Wan muttered through clenched teeth, "Kay, stop it. He's not worth it." It was then that I noticed that his hand on my shoulder was shaking uncontrollably and clutching harder every second. I had never seen Obi-Wan so mad before. I did not even know it was possible for him to get this mad.

I lowered my outstretched arms, longing to rip out Bruck's jugular. They formed into white-knuckle fists at my sides. "Ok," I mumbled to Obi-Wan.

Without even registering what I was doing, my right fist, with a mind of its own, swung at Bruck. It hit him right on his left cheekbone in mid-laugh. I felt the bone shudder as my fist hit his soft, baby-like skin. But my hand did not stop there. It went on to hit his nose and, still in swing, strike the durasteel wall next to Bruck's face with such a strength that a tremor was sent up my arm and down my spine.

Bruck fell backwards into the arms of his unexpecting followers. Blood started flowing from his nose. We started sprinting down the hallway, as far away from the fight as humanly possible. Nevertheless, we were not far enough away to be out of earshot when he managed to yell, "You'll pay for this, Kay-Lin! And you too, Obi-Wan!"

Two minutes later, we finally stopped running. Obi-Wan, who had never been a long-distance sprinter, collapsed on the ground, chest heaving. I sat down next to him, waiting for my best friend to catch his breath. I took this time to glance at my right knuckle, numb from the force of which I hit Bruck and the durasteel wall. It felt like it was on fire. To my surprise, it was covered in blood.

Not Bruck's blood, my blood.

I clutched and unclenched my hand, wincing at the pain that shot from my burning hand up my arm. I did not want Obi-Wan to worry, so I got up quickly, shock still written on face, and mumbled, "I have to use the refresher." I hurried down the hallway, turned into the girl's bathroom, and immediately went toward the sink.

I stuck my hand into the cool flow of the water. Relief from the extinguished flames went up my arm, rolled down my back, and extended its cool arm all the way down to my toes. When the blood was washed away, I looked down at my hand through the mini-waterfall from the faucet. A long, red gash ran the line of my knuckles and was starting to puff up to the size of a grapefruit. I groaned as I turned off the water and dried my hand. It was still oozing blood. I found the first aid kit in the back of the bathroom and pulled out a bandage. I wrapped the gauze around my wound to find the perfect fit. I then cut the gauze and returned to the faucet. I washed the cut and dried it one more time before I applied the gauze and left the bathroom.

I walked back to Obi-Wan. He had gotten up and was breathing normally. I kept my right hand behind my back as best as I could without looking suspicious.

"So…breakfast, right?" said Obi-Wan.

We continued going down the final stretch of the hallway towards the mess area at a slow pace. I dropped my guard of keeping my arm out of Obi-Wan's sight, and he noticed the bandage.

"Kay! What'd you do now?" said Obi-Wan, taking my bandaged hand in his and examining it. As his soft hands gently ran the length of my bandage, I winced. I pulled my hand away.

"I'm fine, Obi-Wan. Just remind me not to hit Bruck that hard again." I said with a roll of my eyes. It still hurt, but the last thing I needed was Obi-Wan to baby me. After all, I will be a Jedi someday, I hope.

"You sure?" Obi-Wan picked up my hand again. Before I could stop him, he unwound the gauze and caressed the area of red, hot, puffy skin, examining the cut. "Why don't we go to the infirmary and see if…"

"Obi-Wan, I'm FINE!" I said. "It's just a cut!"

"Alright…" he said with a shrug as we walked into the mess hall.

We joined the long line of younglings already forming for the mess line. We all grabbed a tray, plate, and silverware. I looked ahead to see what Jedi were serving the food today. The Jedi take turns for who feeds the younglings each day. I could not see who was serving today, so I just looked at my tray, wondering what stuff we will eat today. Hopefully, something good, and not the gruel they sometimes serve (bleh!).

Finally, we reached the line of Jedi handing out food. A pancake was set on my plate by one Jedi, a pile of eggs by another, a few pieces of fruit by another master, and then two muffins from another.

Wait, TWO muffins??

The usual ration was one per youngling. Though many people complained for more of the savory chocolate muffins, no one got any more or any less. I noticed Obi-Wan received two as well. I looked up to see who gave us the extra muffins. Ral-Lor stood behind the counter, holding chocolate muffins, and winked. He then returned to the usual ration of one muffin per youngling.

We walked away from the counter and sat at a table towards the back of the room. The farther away from Bruck Chun you were, the less chance you had of getting hit with stray food. Usually, Bruck always made a point to throw at least two pieces of something at either Obi-Wan or me, just to prove that nobody was safe from his wrath. I figured it would be just that much worse today.

A blonde-haired pretty youngling came and sat next to me. " 'Morning Kay! 'Morning Obi-Wan!"

"Hey Siri!" I shouted in greeting as she set her tray down beside me.

"Hi Siri," said Obi-Wan shyly. He never seems to fully open up to anyone, even his friends (which is pretty much just Siri and me).

Siri Tachi was another youngling at the temple. She is in between Obi-Wan and my ages. She is awesome and is another close friend of mine. Siri can fight a mean lightsaber battle, believe me!

"So, do you guys have any idea what happened to Bruck?"

"What do you mean?" asked Obi-Wan, slightly surprised.

"Look!" said Siri.

Obi-Wan turned around as I casually looked up from my chocolate milk. There was Bruck and his cronies. All was the same except a huge bandage was on the left side of his face. Some odd, green, puss-like ointment creeped out from under the seams of his bandage. The bandage still did not quite cover his swollen, blood-crusted nose and his black eye. Heads turned more than usual as he walked into the mess hall. I hid my right arm under the table because I did not want the other younglings to put two and two together. Bruck turned towards our table he gave me a glare. The I'm-gonna-make-your-life-a-living-hell glare.

When Obi-Wan and I were still silent after she stated her first question, Siri, in a quieter voice, said, "I repeat, do you guys have any idea what happened to Bruck?"

"Kinda…" I said weakly, thinking with horror of whatever Bruck was planning.

"Care to tell me what, guys?" said Siri, intrigued.

Obi-Wan leaned over and whispered a quick review of the morning's events into Siri's ear. Her eyes widened until they were as big as the pancakes. "Geez, I need to start coming with you guys to morning meditations so I don't miss out on the fun!"

As we were eating, someone brushed up against me and whispered in my ear, "If you want to avoid a fight, I would leave now."

I turned around to see who whispered in my ear. She was already walking away, but I could tell it was Adi Gallia. She was recently named a Jedi knight, and I knew it would be wise to heed her advice.

"Guys, lets go," I whispered to Obi-Wan and Siri.

We threw out the remainder of our breakfast and set our trays on top of the trash can. I didn't have enough time to finish my muffin, so I tucked it under my cloak.

Hastily, we departed from the mess hall. The father away we were from Bruck, the better. We made our way back to the youngling rooms, laughing and joking the whole way.

"Well, see you guy at the battle!" I said.

"See ya!" shouted Obi-Wan.

"Don't beat yourself up trying to get better than me!" taunted Siri.

"May the best person win!" I shouted back.


End file.
